U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is releasing five Mexican gray wolf pups after they were born in captivity. The pups were given names by K-12 students, and they’ll soon be roaming in the wild with their parents.
The puppies were born at a refuge in New Mexico. They’ve been dubbed Kachina, Aspen, Sage, Kai and Aala.
They’re the offspring of Asha — an adult wolf who was born here in Arizona in the wild and tagged. She’s famous for nearly making it all the way to Colorado.
“She was placed in captivity the second time because of her roamings, they thought she might just roam again, and of course the reason she was roaming, this is typical wolf behavior, is to look for a mate and new territory,” said Mary Katherine Ray, wildlife chair with the Sierra Club’s Rio Grande chapter.
Asha was placed in captivity by Fish and Wildlife with the hopes that she would breed with a captive-born male. Now, they’ll all be released together.
“So this is the family that is now up for release back into the wild, which the Fish and Wildlife Service promised when they took Asha into captivity to begin with,” Ray said.
Conservationists say the puppies will help infuse new genes into the wild Mexican wolf population.
The Mexican wolf is considered the most endangered wolf species in the world. Efforts have been underway for years in the U.S. and Mexico to track the animals and build up wild populations.
